Major Development of Productivity
Theory
Zujiao Li
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has
stressed on multiple occasions that “we must properly handle the relation between
economic development and environmental protection, and uphold the philosophy that
protecting and improving the environment is protecting and increasing productivity.”
This statement, representing a new requirement on China’s sustainable economic and
social development on a comprehensive and strategic level, is an action guide for the
whole Party and the whole country to build a beautiful China and realize the Chinese
Dream of the great national rejuvenations. By revealing the relation between ecological environment and productivity from the ideological and theoretical perspective,
it marks a major development of the productivity theory.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remark that “protecting and improving the environment is protecting and increasing productivity” is a major development of the
productivity theory. First of all, the idea that “environmental productivity is also a
kind of productivity” it contains inherits and develops Marx’s view that “natural
productivity is also a kind of productivity.”
As we all know, the earth surface, where mankind carries out all activities,
consists of two highly connected worlds—the human world comprising the social
sphere, techno-sphere and noosphere, and the natural world comprising the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. According to the Marxist productivity theory, social material production and natural material production take place
simultaneously in these two worlds; correspondingly, there is the social productivity
and natural productivity driving each of the two material production processes. In
This article was originally collected in the book Building Ecological Civilization, Building Beautiful
China—Studying and Implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping Strategic Thought on Ecological
Civilization edited by the former National Forestry Administration and published by China Forestry
Press. Later it was published on the Green China magazine with revisions by the author himself.
Z. Li (B)
Economic Development Research Center of Former National Forestry Administration, Beijing,
China
© China Environment Publishing Group Co., Ltd. 2021
J. Pan et al. (eds.), Beautiful China: 70 Years Since 1949 and 70 People’s Views
on Eco-civilization Construction, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6742-5_17
195
Theory
Zujiao Li
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has
stressed on multiple occasions that “we must properly handle the relation between
economic development and environmental protection, and uphold the philosophy that
protecting and improving the environment is protecting and increasing productivity.”
This statement, representing a new requirement on China’s sustainable economic and
social development on a comprehensive and strategic level, is an action guide for the
whole Party and the whole country to build a beautiful China and realize the Chinese
Dream of the great national rejuvenations. By revealing the relation between ecological environment and productivity from the ideological and theoretical perspective,
it marks a major development of the productivity theory.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remark that “protecting and improving the environment is protecting and increasing productivity” is a major development of the
productivity theory. First of all, the idea that “environmental productivity is also a
kind of productivity” it contains inherits and develops Marx’s view that “natural
productivity is also a kind of productivity.”
As we all know, the earth surface, where mankind carries out all activities,
consists of two highly connected worlds—the human world comprising the social
sphere, techno-sphere and noosphere, and the natural world comprising the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. According to the Marxist productivity theory, social material production and natural material production take place
simultaneously in these two worlds; correspondingly, there is the social productivity
and natural productivity driving each of the two material production processes. In
This article was originally collected in the book Building Ecological Civilization, Building Beautiful
China—Studying and Implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping Strategic Thought on Ecological
Civilization edited by the former National Forestry Administration and published by China Forestry
Press. Later it was published on the Green China magazine with revisions by the author himself.
Z. Li (B)
Economic Development Research Center of Former National Forestry Administration, Beijing,
China
© China Environment Publishing Group Co., Ltd. 2021
J. Pan et al. (eds.), Beautiful China: 70 Years Since 1949 and 70 People’s Views
on Eco-civilization Construction, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6742-5_17
195